This invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to miniature electrical connectors having superior alignment capabilities during assembly, increased contact density and ruggedness suitable for automotive applications.
Electrical connectors are used in multiple applications in many areas. Particularly prevalent is their use in automobiles where the current emphasis has been on combining great reliability, miniaturization and reduced cost. These features have been absent from the connectors now on the market.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to obviate the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is another object of the invention to enhance connector assembly operations.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a connector that is economical to manufacture, small in size yet provided with increased density of contacts.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a connector housing having provisions for accepting electrical contacts that are of less than perfect configuration.
These objects are accomplished, in one aspect of the invention, by an electrical connector that comprises an electrically insulating housing having a front end and a back end displaced along a longitudinal axis. An electrical contact receiving aperture is formed in the housing and is arrayed parallel to the longitudinal axis. The back end of the connector housing further includes a contact receiving entrance that has a given cross-sectional, one-way footprint and has a given length xe2x80x9cLxe2x80x9d along the longitudinal axis. An electrical contact is positioned in the contact-receiving aperture, and has the same cross-sectional, one-way footprint as the entrance. At least a portion of the longitudinal length of the contact, designated xe2x80x9cL1xe2x80x9d is sufficient to retain engagement with the contact receiving entrance until the contact enters the electrical contact-receiving aperture in the insulating housing.
The one-way footprint assures correct alignment of the contact with the housing aperture and allows for a much smaller contact with lesser spacing between contacts, thus allowing for a greater contact density and a miniaturization of the connector.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the contact receiving aperture in the housing has a slightly larger cross-section than that of the contact and, additionally, has a grosser shape than that of the given, one-way, cross-sectional footprint, which permits slightly misaligned or crooked contacts to still be fed into the connector housing. This provision, which allows the connector to accept contacts of less than perfect configuration, reduces the cost of assembly of the connector. In a still further embodiment, the contact-receiving aperture in the connector housing includes a locking tongue that fixedly holds a completely inserted contact within the aperture.